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Monday, August 9, 2010

Kanab to Bluff to Ridgway

Michelle and Stefanie came over for breakfast at 7:30 Sunday morning. They got Rosie’s special apple pancakes and we all had a good time reminiscing about the last few days. They left about 8:30 and we hooked up the camper and headed east for Page, AZ. I did not know that Page was the main gathering point for activities surrounding Lake Powell and the Glen Canyon Recreation Area. There were campers and boaters everywhere. We got through town and headed east in northern Arizona. We stopped for fuel and groceries in a little town called Kayenta. When we headed north towards Bluff, UT we were stunned with the beauty of a place called Monument Valley. The bluffs and rock formations were incredible. Here are some samples of what we saw:

We were looking for Sand Island Campground just before Bluff, UT. The map I had printed showed two entrances, which turned out to be incorrect so I ended up going down the wrong highway for about 8 miles before I found a spot to turn around. We did find this Federal Government campground after a another mile or so on the road that I turned off of (I hate when I do that) and selected a great site with no one else around. The price is right here; $5.00 per night for us Golden Oldies. It turns out that Sand Canyon has huge walls full of ancient Petroglyphs from ancient Native Americans. It was very interesting to see and of course I took a few pictures.

Sometime this evening Sammy developed a problem with the paw on his left hind leg. He was licking it a lot, then starting limping and then just carrying that leg and using the other 3 legs. We checked his paw and could not find a thorn or glass or anything so we surmised that he sprained it. He is using it more now and seems to be recovering.

Monday morning we broke camp and drove through Bluff where we were greeted by more stunning rock formations

and the rusted remnants of what appears to be a 1953 Mercury.

After entering Colorado we had a somewhat hair raising experience coming down a steep grade following a pilot truck. The cliff drop off was on my left. The driver usually doesn’t see this angle. The road crew was doing rock scaling (bringing down boulders from the cliff on the other side before they would fall “accidently”) . As we got close to the bottom of the grade we could see why; it looked like there had been a small rockslide of some pretty big rocks. I am glad we were not there when they came down.

We are now set up in Ridgway State Park about 5 miles north of Ridgway, CO. My wonderful bride of 43 years took me out to dinner at a local fine dining establishment. We both had Mexican food which was delicious. The restaurant provided the Mud Pie (to die for) as a birthday gift. Here we are celebrating my big 66:

Tomorrow we are on the our old neighborhood where we will be “camping” in our former neighbors yard. We will catch up with all of you in a few days.